# Is it safe to delete Lightroom Classic Smart Previews?

- URL: https://moreroom.app/folders/lightroom-smart-previews
- Item: Lightroom Classic smart previews
- Location: `~/Pictures/Lightroom` (items inside)
- Verdict: Review first — Might hold something you care about. Look inside before removing it.
- Comes back on its own: yes
- Source: MoreRoom rules catalogue (2026-10-17), by Yando Pte. Ltd.

## What is it?

The “Smart Previews.lrdata” package next to a Lightroom Classic catalog holds compact DNG versions of your photos. They let you edit, and export at reduced size, while the originals are offline, for example on a disconnected drive. They are much smaller than raw originals but add up across large catalogs.

## What happens if you delete it?

Lightroom can only rebuild them when the original files are connected. Your edits are stored in the catalog, not in the smart previews, so they are kept either way.

## How to remove it properly

In Lightroom Classic, select the photos and choose Library › Previews › Discard Smart Previews. Alternatively quit Lightroom and move the Smart Previews.lrdata package to the Trash.

## Before you delete it

If the originals are on a drive that is not connected, or no longer exists, smart previews may be the only editable version you have: keep them.